STATE OF ALASKA
Department of Health and Social Services
Division of Public Assistance
TRANSMITTAL NUMBER: MC #59
MANUAL: Alaska Temporary Assistance Program
DATE: July 2, 2018
We are making several changes to incorporate new policy, clarify existing policy, and align policies within our program manuals. The Work Services sections of the manual that are not necessary to determine eligibility have been relocated to the Work Services Procedure Manual (WSPM).
Other changes are either technical in nature or clarifications that are the result of policy questions or suggestions from the field.
Highlights of these policy revisions are described below. If you have any questions, please contact the Policy and Program Development Team at dpapolicy@alaska.gov.
OVERVIEW OF CHANGES
MS 700-1 INTRODUCTION TO TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE
Deleted the second reference to JOBS in the first paragraph for better sentence structure
MS 701-1 WHAT IS THE 60-MONTH TIME LIMIT
Changed the subsection title from "The 60-Month Time Limit" to "What is the 60-Month Time Limit" to align with the Table of Contents
MS 701-1(A) INFORMING FAMILIES ABOUT THE 60 MONTH TIME LIMIT
Changed terminology from "case review staffings" to "Family Progress Reviews" to align with the new Work Services Family Review process
MS 701-3 DETERMINING EXEMPTIONS AND ALLOWING EXTENSIONS TO THE 60-MONTH TIME LIMIT
Changed terminology from "staffings" to "Family Progress Reviews" to align with the new Work Services Family Review process
MS 701-3(A) MAKING THE EXTENSION DECISION
Changed terminology from "staffings" to "Family Progress Reviews" to align with the new Work Services Family Review process
Clarified that this section guidance only applies to the extension staffing
MS 701-3(C) LENGTH OF EXTENSION
Changed terminology from "staffing team" to "Extension Review Staffing Team" to align with the new Work Services Family Review process
MS 701-3(E) CONTINUING THE EXTENSION
Changed terminology from "staffings" to "Family Progress Reviews" to align with the new Work Services Family Review process
MS 701-5 COMPLIANCE WITH FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY PLAN WHILE ON EXTENSION
Changed terminology from "staffings" to "Family Progress Reviews" to align with the new Work Services Family Review process
Changed terminology from "eligibility worker" to "caseworker" for consistency in language throughout the ATAP manual
MS 701-6 FAMILY PROGRESS REVIEWS
Changed title of section from "Case Review Staffing" to "Family Progress Reviews"
Removed case management information from this section and added hyperlink to the WSPM where this information is now located
MS 701-7 EXTENSION PROCEDURES
Rephrased extension procedures to align with the new Work Services Family Review process
Changed section title from "Extension Staffing Procedures" to "Extension Procedures" to align with the new Family Progress Review process
Removed staffing language to align with the new Family Progress Review process
Renumbered section
MS 701-7(A) EXTENSION RESPONSIBILITIES
Changed title from "Extension Review Staffing Responsibilities" to " Extension Responsibilities" to align with the new Family Progress Review process
Deleted redundant information and added hyperlinks to ATAP MS 701-3 and ATAP MS 701-4
Renumbered section
MS 701-7(B) CASE WORKER RESPONSIBILITIES
Renumbered section
MS 701-7(C) and 701-7(D) CASE REVIEW STAFFING PROCEDURES
Deleted subsections as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM
MS 701-8 WHEN A FAMILY WITH MORE THAN 57 MONTHS DOES NOT WANT AN EXTENSION
Added form numbers and hyperlinks to eforms for clarity
Added a hyperlink to Admin MS 109-10 regarding case note requirements
Renumbered section
MS 701-9 WHEN A FAMILY APPLIES FOR ASSISTANCE AND HAS ALREADY USED 57 OR MORE MONTHS OF ASSISTANCE
Capitalized the section title for manual consistency
Revised section language to align the extension criteria and benefit issuance with the benefit months used and the new Family Progress Review process
Added a hyperlink to WSPM 1008 for Family Progress Review information
Renumbered section
MS 705-3(A) WHEN IS AN INTERVIEW REQUIRED?
Clarified that an interview does not need to be completed if a household submits their recertification after the end of the certification period but within the following month and is not due for their annual interview
MS 705-5(C) PENDING THE APPLICATION
Clarified that an interview does not need to be completed if a household submits their recertification after the end of the certification period but within the following month and is not due for their annual interview
MS 719-1 SELF-SUFFICIENCY PLANNING REQUIREMENT
Clarified who is considered an adult in a minor parent household
Restructured section for better understanding
MS 719-3 THE FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY PLAN
Changed section title from "Elements of the Family Self-Sufficiency Plan" to "The Family Self-Sufficiency Plan"
Removed case management information from this section and added a link to the WSPM where this information is now located
MS 719-4 SIGNATURES
Deleted section as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM
MS 719-5 PARTNER AGENCY PLANS
Deleted section as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM
MS 720-3 DETERMINATION OF INCAPACITY FOR A TWO-PARENT FAMILY
Changed section title from "Determination of Incapacity" to "Determination of Incapacity for a Two-Parent Family" to clarify that this guidance is only for Two-Parent families
MS 723-4(B) FSSP, WORK, AND CHILD SUPPORT PENALTIES
Removed case management information from this section and added hyperlink to the WSPM where this information is now located
MS 723-5 THRU 723-5(G) HOME VISITS
Delete section and all subsections of 723-5 as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM
MS 723-5 OTHER PENALTY INFORMATION
Renumbered section
MS 723-6 RESERVED
Renumbered section
MS 723-7 EIS INFORMATION
Renumbered section
MS 730-1 CATEGORIES OF COUNTABLE WORK ACTIVITIES
Removed case management information from this section and added hyperlink to the WSPM where this information is now located
MS 730-3 THRU 730-3(B) PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND PARTICIPATION TARGETS
Deleted section and subsections as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM
MS 730-4 HOURS OF PARTICIPATION
Deleted section as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM
MS 730-5 THRU 730-5(C) COUNTABLE TIME PER WORK ACTIVITY
Deleted section and subsections as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM
MS 731 WORK: ASSESSMENT AND ASSIGNMENT
Deleted subsection title "Assessment" and made content part of the introduction under TA MS 731-1 titled "Work: Assessment and Assignment" for better organization of the section
Moved language from the first paragraph of subsection 731-7 to 731-1 for better clarity and flow of guidance
Clarified assessment responsibilities for the case manager and added hyperlink to WSPM 1001
Renumbered section
MS 731-1 ASSESSMENT
Moved section 731-1 to 731
MS 731-1 INITIAL ASSESSMENT
Updated subsection to clarify that the initial assessment information is collected by the case manager
Listed the information screened for when completing the Employment Planning Information (EPI) form during assessment
Renumbered section
MS 731-1(B) THRU 731-1(D) NEED FOR ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENT
Deleted subsections as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM
MS 731-2 THRU 731-2(B) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Deleted section and subsections as case management information has been relocated to WSPM
MS 731-2 NOTIFICATION AND SCREENING
Clarified that screening for domestic violence (DV) begins with the case worker at time of interview for eligibility determination and is overseen by the case manager through case management
Renumbered section
MS 731-3 SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Deleted subsection as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM
MS 731-4 CRIMINAL RECORD
Deleted subsection as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM
MS 731-5 PHYSICAL OR MENTAL ILLNESS
Deleted subsection as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM
MS 731-6 LABOR MARKET INFORMATION (LMI)
Deleted subsection as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM
MS 731-7 ASSIGNMENT TO WORK ACTIVITIES
Moved the first paragraph of subsection of TA MS 731-7 to 731 and edited language for better guidance clarity
Deleted remainder of subsection as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM
MS 732 THRU 732-4 FAMILIES FIRST
Deleted section and subsections as Families First will no longer exist in SFY19
MS 734 THRU 734-10 WORK: VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND EDUCATION
Deleted section and subsections as Families First will no longer exist in SFY19
MS 737 THRU 737-3 WORK: ATTENDANCE AND PERFORMANCE
Deleted sections and subsections as Families First will no longer exist in SFY19
MS 739 WORK: SUPPORTIVE SERVICE PAYMENTS
Rephrased supportive service payments procedures to align with the new Work Services Family Review process and added link to WSPM
MS 739-1 THRU 739-15 WORK: SUPPORTIVE SERVICE PAYMENTS
Deleted subsections as Families First will no longer exist in SFY19
MS 740-1 THRU 740-1B EXTENDED CASE MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES
Deleted subsections as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM
MS 770-3 MINOR PARENTS
Changed terminology from "Minor Parent Contractor" to "Case Manager" for consistency
MS 790-8 PERIODIC REVIEWS
Clarified that the caseworker determines the review period and if an interview should be completed more frequently than every 12 months
MS 790-8(C) INTERVIEWS
Clarified that an interview is required at least once every 12 months
MS 790-8D LATE SUBMISSION OF REVIEW FORM
Clarified that an interview does not need to be completed if a household submits their recertification after the end of the certification period but within the following month and is not due for their annual interview.
Changed terminology from 1603 to GEN50C Appendix D for clarity